Prefabricated reinforced insulating element for a wall insulated on one side and a manufacturing method

ABSTRACT

A reinforced insulating element for a wall made of concrete and insulation with one-sided insulation that is preferably prefabricated. It also concerns a wall made with this prefabricated insulating element. The insulating element according to the invention has at least one insulating panel that is equipped with holding elements that are attached to the first flat surface of the insulating panel and are arranged at a distance from each other perpendicularly to the flat surface of the insulating panel; it also has at least one reinforcing mat attached to the holding elements at a distance from the insulating panel, with spacers arranged at those ends of the holding elements facing away from the insulating panel, and/or on that side of the reinforcing mat that is facing away from the insulating panel. In addition, on a second flat surface of the insulating panel, the insulating element has a support structure for face panels that is attached to the insulating panel with anchors, where the anchors are anchored in the concrete layer and protrude from the first flat surface of the insulating panel.

This application claims priority under 35 USC §119 to European Patent Application No. 07 002 973.1, filed on Feb. 13, 2007, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to prefabricated walls and reinforced insulating elements for use therewith.

2. Description of the Related Art

Insulated prefabricated walls are commonly known, in variants that are insulated on one side, or with insulated cores. There are various types of prefabricated walls: those with insulation applied to one side (thermally insulated composite wall) that need to be filled at the construction site, and those with insulation applied to one side that are completely finished at the factory where the insulation in the form of insulating panels is pressed against the concrete and bonds to it during the curing process. The manufacture of such prefabricated walls is labor-intensive and costly, and their transportation to the construction site difficult due to their size and weight.

For this reason, it is often desirable to pour prefabricated walls at the construction site by using prefabricated insulating elements that already contain the reinforcement for the prefabricated wall.

An insulating element of this type is known from DE 20 2005 017 046 U1. It discloses an insulating element for a thermally insulated prefabricated wall made of concrete and insulation, and a method for the manufacture of the insulating element and of a prefabricated wall using this insulating element.

The insulating element proposed there has at least one insulating panel, holding elements that are attached to at least one side of the insulating panel and arranged at a distance from each other perpendicular on the flat surface of the insulating panel, and at least one reinforcing mat attached to the holding elements at a distance from the insulating panel, and spacers arranged at those ends of the holding elements facing away from the insulating panels, and/or on that side of the reinforcing mat that is facing away from the insulating panel.

It is also known to face the outside walls of buildings with face panels so that air can circulate behind them. For this purpose, a support structure is commonly attached to the building wall with rust-proof anchors to which the face panel can be attached at a distance from the wall. With prefabricated walls with one-sided insulation, the attachment of the support structure is difficult due to the low strength of the outward-facing insulating panels and their low capacity for accepting anchoring forces. With walls of this type, expensive anchoring systems with special anchors are required that extend into the inner concrete shell in order to transfer the forces generated by the face panel into the concrete shell.

Therefore, the invention addresses the problem of proposing a method that simplifies the attachment of a face panel to a thermally insulated composite wall and that would also allow the simple manufacture of insulated prefabricated walls with a support structure at the construction site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns a reinforced insulating element for an insulated wall made of concrete and insulation, being preferably prefabricated, with at least one insulating panel that is equipped with holding elements that are attached to one side of the insulating panel and arranged at a distance from each other perpendicularly on one flat surface of the insulating panel, and with at least one reinforcing mat attached to the holding elements at a distance from the insulating panel, with spacers arranged at those ends of the holding elements facing away from the insulating panel, and/or on that side of the reinforcing mat that is facing away from the insulating panel.

According to the invention, the insulating panel of the reinforced insulating element carries anchors to attach a support structure on its second flat surface that is located opposite the first flat surface carrying the holding elements and at least one reinforcing mat attached to these, with the anchors protruding from the first flat surface of the insulating panel. These anchors permit to attach the support structure to the anchors before or after the insulated wall made of concrete and insulation is manufactured.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the reinforced insulating panel of the reinforced insulating element carries a support structure that is attached to the insulating panel with help of said anchors. After the manufacture of the prefabricated walls with one-sided insulation, this makes it possible to attach any type of facing—e.g. brick, wood, natural stone, or panels—directly to the prefabricated wall without having to use additional anchors or adding them later. The forces that are generated by the facing and need to be absorbed by the concrete shell are transferred by special anchors that are already integrated in the reinforced insulating element. Preferably, these anchors have low thermal conductivity in order to keep the thermal bridging necessitated by the structural design as low as possible.

The reinforced insulating element has at least one insulating panel to whose first flat surface—the one associated with a concrete shell—holding elements are attached that are arranged at a distance from each other and perpendicular to the flat surface. Generally, the holding elements run across the entire width of the flat surface and may be of the common lattice girder type. It is important that the holding elements are attached firmly to the insulating panel in order to hold it in place later when the concrete is poured. In addition, the reinforced insulating element has at least one reinforcing mat attached to the holding elements at a distance from the insulating panel. The reinforcing mat may be attached at the ends of the holding elements facing away from the insulating panel, or in a middle section of the holding elements. Also, the reinforced insulating element has spacers at the ends of the holding elements facing away from the insulating panel and/or on the surface of the reinforcing mat facing away from the insulating panel, thereby creating a separation from the outer surface of the later concrete wall.

Preferably, the reinforced insulating element has holding elements with a support plate that is in contact with the insulating panel, the support plate having edges that face the insulating panel and which are designed to engage corresponding grooves in the insulating panel. This helps to secure the holding elements firmly to the insulating panel, with the capability of transferring forces, so that the insulating panel is firmly attached to the concrete shell after the concrete for the prefabricated walls has been poured.

According to a preferred embodiment of the reinforced insulating element proposed by the invention, the holding elements are glued to the insulating panel. This permits a simple and fast attachment of the holding elements to the insulating panel during the manufacture of the insulating element.

Preferably, the support structure of the insulating element has spaced support beams. The support beams contact the insulating panel and are held by the anchors. The anchors used are familiar and essentially cylindrical support anchors made of metal, plastic, or carbon fiber. Additional transverse beams running at right angles and at a certain distance from each other may be installed on the support beams attached by means of the anchors. The spacing of the transverse beams is essentially determined by the dimensions of the facing elements to be attached to the prefabricated wall.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the beams of the support structure rest in grooves of the insulating panel, but protrude from its surface. By sinking the beams into the insulating panel, the face panel can be attached to the prefabricated walls at a smaller distance from the insulating panel. The protrusion of the beams from the surface of the insulating panel is dimensioned to ensure sufficient air circulation behind the face panel.

According to an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, the reinforced insulating element can be moved and transported as a whole so that it can be inserted on the construction site between vertical forms. However, the reinforced insulating element can also be manufactured and/or further processed at the factory or at the construction site. It can be placed vertically either into existing prefab forms or into site-built forms with vertical form cavities. Of course, the reinforced insulating element can also be inserted flat into a horizontal form, open on top, for a thermal composite wall.

The prefabricated wall proposed by the invention, with or without facing panel, is manufactured by using an insulating element with the characteristics described above. In an essentially vertical form cavity, the insulating element may be inserted upright from above, or, while the form is still open on one side, from the side, before the form cavity is closed laterally. Before the concrete of the prefabricated wall is poured, the insulating element is held in place inside the form in such a way that the beams or transverse beams of the support structure rest on the form panels. This makes it possible to manufacture a prefabricated wall with one-sided insulation and with a support structure in a vertical position, while the free form cavity between the inserted insulating element and the form panels into which the holding elements, the reinforcing mat and the anchors intrude is filled with concrete from above.

In a horizontal form—open on top—for a thermal composite wall, the insulating element can also be used horizontally. Here, the insulating element with the support structure facing up can be placed into the form from above when the form is not yet, or partially, or completely filled with concrete. It is also possible to first place the insulating element with the support structure facing down into the form, and then pour the concrete on top of it. In order to produce a perfect thermal composite wall, it helps to vibrate the concrete or the insulating element or the form, and to hold the insulating element in place on the form.

According to the method proposed by the invention, the manufacture of a composite prefabricated wall with one-sided insulation that is made of concrete and of an insulating element with a support structure for a facing panel proceeds with the following steps:

-   -   1. Manufacture of an insulating element with an insulating panel         to which a reinforcement and anchors and if provided a support         structure are attached;     -   2. Preparation of a pouring frame for the insulating element         with lateral forms;     -   3. Insertion of the insulating element into the pouring cavity         and holding it in position there;     -   4. Filling the space between the insulating element and the form         with concrete poured from above;     -   5. Compacting the concrete.

It proved to be of advantage if the pouring cavity into which the insulating element is to be inserted is left open at one end or one side, and is closed only after the insulating element has been inserted into the pouring cavity and has been aligned and fixed in position. This facilitates the work involved.

The insulating element is manufactured as follows:

-   -   1. Procurement of an insulating panel;     -   2. Creation of spaced, defined grooves on at least one flat         surface;     -   3. Creation of spaced, defined holes in the insulating panel;     -   4. Preparation of holding elements with a support plate and         gripping edges protruding from the surface;     -   5. Gluing of the holding elements with the support plate to the         flat surface, with the gripping edges engaging the grooves of         the flat surface;     -   6. Attachment of reinforcing mats to the holding elements at a         distance from the insulating panel;     -   7. Attachment of spacers to the holding elements and/or the         reinforcing mats in order to create a distance between them and         the lateral forms;     -   8. Preparation of anchors and if provided preparing beams for         the support structure; and     -   9. Holding the anchors at the insulating panel located in the         holes and protruding from them and if provided attaching the         beams to the insulating panel by means of the anchors, with the         anchors.

With the reinforced insulating element as proposed by the invention, it is possible to manufacture insulated prefabricated walls with smooth interior walls and with a support structure for face panels on the exterior wall that are ready for use. Manufacturing the walls vertically at the construction site saves labor as well as transportation costs.

The subject of this invention is defined not only by the subject of the individual patent claims but also by the combination of the individual claims with each other. Additional characteristics of the invention can be found in the following description of an embodiment of the invention in conjunction with the claims and the attached drawings.

Below, the invention is described in detail with the help of embodiments in conjunction with a reinforced insulating element. Here, the figures of the drawing and their description reveal additional essential characteristics of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows vertical sections (FIG. 1 a, 1 b), a horizontal section (FIG. 1 c) of a conventional reinforced insulating element for a thermally insulated composite wall, as well as a thermally insulated composite wall (FIG. 1 d) without support structure in a vertical section; and

FIG. 2 shows a vertical section (FIG. 2 a) and a top view (FIG. 2 b) of a reinforced insulating element as proposed by the invention with a support structure for a thermally insulated composite wall, as well as a corresponding horizontal section (FIG. 2 c) and a vertical section of a thermally insulated composite wall with support structure as proposed by the invention (FIG. 2 c).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1 a to 1 d, FIG. 1 shows various views of a reinforced insulating element 1′ for a thermally insulated composite wall 2′ as is conventional. The reinforced insulating element 1′ has several solid insulating panels 3 made of common insulating material. On its flat surface 4, several spaced grooves 5 are created in the surface that are engaged by the edges 8 of a support plate 7 of the holding elements 6. The holding elements 6 are arranged in such a way that they also cover the butt joint of adjacent insulating panels. The holding elements 6 are attached by means of an adhesive between the support plate 7 and the flat surface 4 of the insulating panel 3. The holding element 6 has a conventional reinforcing lattice 11 that is arranged perpendicular to the support plate 7 in question. Between the holding elements 6, the usual reinforcing mats 9 are arranged, essentially parallel to the insulating panel 3. At the end of the reinforcing lattices 11 of the holding elements 6, spacers 10 are arranged that keep the reinforcements 9, 11 at a distance from the concrete surface of the finished thermally insulated composite wall 2′. FIG. 1 d shows the thermally insulated composite wall 2′ with the finished concrete layer 15.

In FIG. 2 a to 2 d, FIG. 2 shows a reinforced insulating element 1 as proposed by the invention for a prefabricated wall 2 with one-sided insulation to which a face panel 13 can be attached. On its flat surface 4 that is associated with the concrete layer 15, the insulating element 1 of the prefabricated wall 2 shows the structure described in connection with FIG. 1. For this reason, the same reference numbers are used to identify the same parts. According to the invention, the insulating element 1 has a support structure 12 on the flat surface 14 of the insulating panel 3 that is opposite the flat surface 4. The support structure 12 consists of several beams 16, arranged at a distance from each other, that engage the grooves 17 of the insulating panel 3 and are held in contact with the insulating panel 3 by the anchors 18. In the embodiment shown here, the beams 16 are arranged vertically. Transversely to the beams 16, horizontal cross beams 19 are arranged that, together with the beams 16, form the support structure 12 for attachment of the face panel 13. The beams 16 protrude from the flat surface 14 of the insulating panel 3 so that the cross beams 19 are located at a distance from the insulating panel 3 which permits air to circulate behind the face panel 13. The anchors 18 extend from the beams 16 through holes 20 in the insulating panel 3 towards the reinforcing mat 3 and protrude from the flat surface 4 of the insulating panel 3. With their free ends 21, they are positively anchored in the concrete layer 15 of the finished prefabricated wall 2. FIG. 2 c, 2 d show the finished insulated prefabricated wall 2 with a face panel 13 attached to the support structure.

Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to certain preferred embodiments, it is obvious that equivalents and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of the specification. The present invention includes all such equivalents and modifications, and is limited only by the scope of the following claims. 

1. A reinforced insulating element for an insulated wall made of concrete and insulation, with at least one insulating panel with flat surfaces, with holding elements that are attached to a first flat surface of the insulating panel and arranged at a distance from each other perpendicular to the flat surface, and with at least one reinforcing mat attached to the holding elements at a distance from the insulating panel, with spacers arranged at the far ends of the holding elements facing away from the insulating panel, and/or on that side of the reinforcing mat that is facing away from the insulating panel, wherein the insulating panel includes anchors to attach a support structure to the insulating panel on its second flat surface, the anchors protruding from the first flat surface of the insulating panel.
 2. A reinforced insulating element according to claim 1, in combination with the support structure attached to the insulating panel with the anchors.
 3. A reinforced insulating element according to claim 1, wherein the holding element has a support plate that contacts the insulating panel and has edges preferably pointing in the direction of the insulating panel for the purpose of engaging corresponding grooves in the insulating panel.
 4. A reinforced insulating element according to claim 3, wherein the holding elements are glued to the insulating panel.
 5. A reinforced insulating element according to any of the claim 2, wherein the support structure has beams that are arranged at a distance from each other.
 6. A reinforced insulating element according to claim 5, wherein the beams are inserted in grooves of the insulating panel, but protrude from its surface.
 7. A reinforced insulating element according to claim 1, wherein the insulating element can be inserted between vertical forms.
 8. A prefabricated wall, comprising a reinforced insulating element according to claim 1 and a body engaged by the holding elements.
 9. A reinforced insulating element according to claim 2, further comprising a face panel attached to the support structure of the insulating element.
 10. A method for manufacturing an insulated wall made of concrete with a reinforced insulating element, comprising the following steps: manufacturing an insulating element with an insulating panel, a reinforcement, and anchors to attach a support structure to the insulating panel; preparing a pouring cavity for the insulating element with lateral forms; inserting the insulating element into the pouring cavity and holding it in position there; and filling the cavity between the insulating element and the forms with concrete.
 11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the anchors protrude from a first flat surface of the insulating panel, and the protrusion of the anchors is engaged by the concrete.
 12. A method according to claim 10, wherein the reinforced insulating element is made according to the following steps: procuring the insulating panel; creating spaced, defined grooves on at least one flat surface of the insulating panel; creating spaced, defined holes in the insulating panel; preparing holding elements with a support plate and gripping edges protruding from the surface; gluing the holding elements with the support plate to the flat surface, with the gripping edges engaging the grooves of the flat surface; attaching reinforcing mats to the holding elements at a distance from the insulating panel; attaching spacers to the holding elements and/or the reinforcing mats in order to create a separation between them and the lateral forms; and holding the anchors at the insulating panel located in the holes and protruding from them.
 13. A method according to claim 12, further comprising the step of attaching beams for the support structure to the insulating panel by means of the anchors. 